Music / At The Gates

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At the Gates iswasiswas is a metal band from Gothenburg, Sweden, and possibly, out of the three Gothenburg bands that pioneered the genre of Melodic Death Metal, the most-often cited as an influence (the other two being Dark Tranquillity and In Flames).

The band was formed in 1990 by former members of the death/black metal band Grotesque. They recorded a debut EP, Gardens of Grief, which led Peaceville Records (yes, thatone) to sign the band, and they released their debut album, The Red in the Sky is Ours, which featured an eclectic and technical sound, including, for instance, neoclassical arrangements and even a string solo.

They continued with their technical style on their second album, With Fear I Kiss the Burning Darkness, but moved away from it with Terminal Spirit Disease, considered their breakthrough album. In 1995, they released the legendary Slaughter of the Soul, possibly the most important album in defining melodeath as a subgenre. Slaughter of the Soul was a huge commercial success (unfortunately for disgruntled fans of the band's more complex early works), but despite this success, the band broke up in 1996.

Like fellow melodeath pioneers Carcass, they reformed at a later date (in AtG's case, 2007) to play several reunion shows.

Despite originally planning for their 2007-2008 tour to be their last, At the Gates reunited once again in 2010 for some festival dates and have continued to play shows since then. Although they had stated in numerous interviews that they had no plans to release new material, the band confirmed in January 2014 that they had signed to Century Media Recordsnote The same label of fellow melodeath co-Trope CodifiersIn Flames and Dark Tranquillity and were planning to enter the studio in the summer to record At War With Reality, their first album in 19 years.

Last lineup:

Tomas Lindberg − vocals (1990–1996, 2007–2008, 2010-present)

Anders Björler − guitar (1990–1996, 2007–2008, 2010-present)

Martin Larsson − guitar (1993–1996, 2007–2008, 2010-present)

Jonas Björler − bass (1990–1992, 1993–1996, 2007–2008, 2010-present)

Adrian Erlandsson − drums (1990–1996, 2007–2008, 2010-present)

Former members:

Alf Svensson − guitar (1990–1993)

Studio albums:

The Red in the Sky is Ours, 1992

With Fear I Kiss the Burning Darkness, 1993

Terminal Spirit Disease, 1994

Slaughter of the Soul, 1995

At War With Reality, 2014

Tropes of the Soul:

Death Metal - The Red in the Sky is Ours and With Fear I Kiss the Burning Darkness are straight-up death metal albums.

Follow the Leader - Name a melodeath or metalcore band that came after Slaughter of the Soul. They will almost definitely have tried to "expand upon the legacy of the album".

Last Chorus Slow Down - Songs "Cold" and "Unto Others" almost resemble this, only that it's not exactly the "chorus" they slow down for. Still epic bridges (unless you're not into Slaughter Of The Soul).

Signature Style: Harmonized dual guitar riffs involving lots of chugging and heavy grooves and throat-cracking, very pissed-off screams, set to typical blastbeat-led Death Metal drumming. Of the three big melodeath bands, they were the heaviest and the most rhythmic.

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